“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” ― Robert Fulghum, author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts On Common Things

Pretending to understand. This week we were asked to ponder the question, “What am I pretending Not to understand“. What a fabulous exercise! It was hard to sense the layers of deception that lay dormant and yet huge obstructions to reaching my ideals. As in the lyrics of Eric Clapton’s song “Pretending” he says, “I get lost in alibis, Sadness can’t prevail, Everybody knows, Strong love can’t fail”. In the end truth and love always prevail.

Why is it that we often take the option of pretending not to know… I noticed quickly a twinge of guilt when Mark shared on last weeks call that we might be pretending that we don’t know that there are dishes in the sink, which someone will need to wash. An opportunity for a random act of kindness not taken because I pretended not to know. It is that we have things our heart tells us are there so we can fulfill our ideal life and we abdicate or ignore the call.

The question is, if we become master observers, how can we progress to the point where we answer every call to service without loosing ourselves. I have no answer (or am I simple pretending not to know?). This exercise for me will continue and become one of the well-worn cards in my deck of daily contemplative material.

It requires being present, not presuming that old blueprints will somehow resolve themselves. Since starting this program, often I have presume much of the master observer activities to be external, yet this question is purely internal and introspective. It is like the gyroscope to my guided missile; always coarse-correcting. Now if only, like the missile I can remove ego and simple follow the intuition signal as received, as Mark says, the effort required to reach my target will be dramatically reduced and energy, harmony and alignment will permeate my entire being. What a beautiful thought to hold in my mind with interest and attention gathering more of the same as Haanel taught us this week in 18:32.

“I Promise To Myself, Me And No One Else”

When I heard this song and this particular lyric line I felt a chill run through me. I am the Fire, I am my own motivation, internal inspiration and drive to achieve. Remember Mark said the corpus callosum (the bridge between the left and right brain) is more fully developed in musicians. If that is the case (and I personally believe it is) then we who are not musicians can learn and benefit from the rhythm, vibrations and the eloquence of the word architecture the embed in their lyrics… how they use it to express their journey and share it with us.

With the help of Lzzy Hale, rock musician and lead singer of the band Halestorm, I’ll walk you through what must have been a parallel universe (more likely, the Universal Mind) and the internal talk I experienced when I first heard the tune and the instructive lyrics. It’s almost like she has been through the Master Key Experience a chronicled the hero’s journey she has experienced.

Yes, this is for my hard rock friends who often don’t even know they are on their own hero’s journey aligned with the Master Key System and the things we are learning in the MKMMA. If you are not into fairly hard rock, feel free to read it as a poem and draw your own inspiration and points to draw power from. So, with that in mind, I’m going to share my internal conversations as I walked through the full lyrics.

I have had this desire throughout my life to reach beyond my current circumstances and a life of “quiet desperation”.

That burns from within

My heart has often ached to simply believe, to have Faith that I can be more than I have been…

To push away my fear

Enter the Law of Substitution, the only tool to help with vanquishing my fears of inadequacy and societally hypnotised weaknesses!

To stand where I’m afraid

On the scene comes Og Mandino with Scroll III, “I Persist Until I Succeed.”

I am through with this

No more River of Dreams for me! I now know there is more, I can be more…

Cuz I am more than this

I now feel in my heart that I am more, I am unique and have special gifts to share with others “I give without expectation of reciprocity from the channels I enrich, because I know I am…” stepping into the dynamic flow of giving and receiving!

I promise to myself

And here is the granddaddy of them all,“I Always Keep My Promise”. With every commitment we make to ourselves we etch it into our souls with this phrase as covenant to complete the tasks to move forward and accomplish our Plan of Action.

Alone and no one else

I am accountable to myself and no one else as long as we do no harm to their good.

My flame is rising higher

The more I study the system, understand and add the Enthusiasm it generates as fuel to create more Enthusiasm, my commitment and my faith expands exponentially to carry me forward faster and faster!

I am the fire

I, and I alone am the fire. No outside influence or force will have a lasting effect on me reaching my goals. I am personally responsible and accountable to me (SMART goals are what I will use to measure my progress).

I am burning brighter

With each passing day and every repeat of my DMP and Service cards, I can feel the urgency building.

Roaring like a storm

I Always Infuse Enthusiasm into every reading as the dividends are enormous. Remember the50 minutes of reading your one-sentence DMP? I was amazed at the energy it required and then subsequently returned over the next day or two, amazing!

And I am the one I’ve been waiting for

I spent much of my life looking for others I admired to shepherd me toward my goals, no more.I am a Lion. and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep, with sheep! I am my own strength, my own support and I am more than enough to keep the internal flames alight. I do need a mastermind to generate perspectives I have never thought of but, I remain the responsible one.

Screaming like a siren

The more elation and gratitude I put into myEnthusiastic readings, the higher my return on investment (ROI) to myself and to those in my life.

Alive and burning brighter

With all I am learning, life is so much more than it was before… brighter, more opportunities and I am more willing to stretch and reach for my dreams.

Sadly, over time and through many soul-sucking experiences, my heart lost much of its will to risk being hurt and extending my hand to build relationships. I now recognize this and I use the Achievement and Gratitude exercises to soften and warm what once was cold and dark.

Hanging on to hope

Hope and faith are now restored through truth and knowledge of the way, the path to gaining the cooperation of other people, I now induce others to serve me. because of my willingness to serve others.

shackled by the ghost

The “reality holograph” of what is real once kept me from really exploring, from reaching my unlimited potential.

Of what I once believed

My beliefs in these falsehoods are now falling away as the cocoon of the caterpillar reveals the butterfly with wings outstretched and yearning to fly.

That I could never be

An image of me prior to the Master Key system, head hung low, plodding along.

Whats right in front of me

It’s been there all along, greatness in so many ways…

I am the fire

Enthusiasm rises in my heart to heights unknown before

I am burning brighter

With knowledge and learning comes enlightenment and the ability to see what was invisible before.

Roaring like a storm

Like a storm, disruptive, powerful and ever moving from west to east, the nurturing rains follow to power the growth that is to come. “I love the rain for it cleanses my spirit.’

And I am the one I’ve been waiting for

I talk to the Guy in the Glass and recognize him as the man I have been waiting for to be my companion, my accountability partner throughout my journey.

Warm, comforting and motivating, the flame of Thought within is mine to control at will.

I don’t believe I’ll fall from grace

I turn to the Master System in addition to other ,I believe it augments my personal faith.

Won’t Let the past decide my fate

“Failure, like pain is alien to my life. In the past I accepted it as I accepted pain. Now I reject it and am prepared for wisdom and principles which guide me out of the shadows…” My past performance and mistakes are lessons I use to win, I persist, I win… “I build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempt, repeated, complete any undertaking“. (Og Mandino Scroll I & III)

Leave forgiveness in my wake

I forgive all the wrongs I have burdened myself with and leave them all behind trailing me like the silent wake a boat leaves fading into the distance.

Take the love that I’ve Embraced

Again, my man in the mirror repeats daily,“I love you man!”, like one else can!

I promise to myself, me and no one else

I Always Keep My Promise!

I am more than this

I am part of a larger whole, “the Father and I are one” (The Master Key System by Charles F Haanel)

I am the fire…

I am the source of my progress and my burning desire.

Final Chorus…

If you have a favorite song with lyrics that stir you to greatness, Please, Please share your songs and poems in the comments below!!

You and your interpretation of a particular lyric could bring someone else to recognize their greatness or search for it as a member of the Master Key Experience and a fully satisfying life of personal achievement as well as service to others. This is what lifts societies and communities, it people like you and me taking full personal responsibility for our own successes and learning from our missteps to rebuild our castles, our families and our homes one brick at a time, filled with enthusiasm and Thoughtful Living.

It’s been a week filled with pausing to recognize and express gratitude for “the gifts that surround me”. Opportunities to see and feel calming emotions and peace in the journey. It’s working folks!

Fall has the woods around our house all atwitter (no not the social media type) with all the animals scrambling for food to stockpile for the winter. They all act as though they are late but, I digress. Several times this week, I’ve been at the bird feeder refilling and one of our winged residents have taken the time to stop and chatter at or maybe with me. When you stop to consider what we are to them, it only begs the question, why don’t we more often consider what they are to us. Everything with it’s purpose as a contributor to the whole and the perfectness that we all, either in harmony or disharmony, have jointly created.

On the DMP and PPNs this week, there have been several new relationships and breakthroughs that just weeks ago would have seemed impossible. I am still not perfect in my execution of the tasks and exercises but, I am getting stronger and more magnetic in attracting the people around me that I need to fully realize my goals.

The first time I read the second scroll of Og Mandino, I completely came unglued. I could only read on line at a time as my heart could take no more. I have since been able to be a bit more composed, even reassured at each subsequent reading. Anyone else have this issue when thinking of the word love and its application to everyone and anyone you meet or come into contact with? It was just shocking how the bumpy became smooth and the tension became calming relaxation.

When you slip into this flow, you’ll know it! People, opportunities and conversations all seem to contribute to your forward movement. Best of all tangible evidences of the “mechanism whereby you can create for yourself Health, Strength, Success, Prosperity or any other condition which you desire”, are there for the observer in all of us. We just need to look, and look again deeper and more focused on nature (in my case) and bridge from the familiar to the less familiar; until it becomes a friend. Until subby befriends the vision and simply executes on delivering it to us… Vision in only your minds eye, infused with emotion is like exposed film touched by rays of light only needing persistence and insistence to be developed into a magnificent scene to be framed, displayed, observed and enjoyed by all.